All Eyes On... India (Again)

Chip-maker Intel Corp. will invest more than $1 billion in the next five years to expand its operations in India and in local technology companies, Intel Chairman Craig Barrett said Monday.

The investment by the world's largest computer-chip maker will include a $250 million venture-capital fund which Intel has created for investing in Indian companies that can benefit from the rapid growth in the domestic information-technology market in the South Asian nation, Barrett said in a statement.

When Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates begins a four-day visit to India on Tuesday, he'll see a country moving increasingly toward open source operating systems _ the chief rival to his company's Windows software.

The head of Microsoft's India division, Ravi Venkatesan, said Gates plans to focus "on realizing India's potential" during his visit.